Vale Nokia

Farewell Nokia, you have completed the final stage in your reverse-metamorphosis from elegant butterfly to wriggling larva.

You reigned in the 1990s, producing phones that everyone wanted and everyone could use.

You gave us phones that had a consistent and ubiquitous AC adapter, saving waste and countless millions of consumers who were able to borrow some electrons and stay contactable.

You gave us the first phone with no antenna to get caught on things and break off.

You gave us a "corporate phone" so good people are still using them almost ten years later.

You even gave us the phone Neo used in The Matrix!

And then you lost the plot. Along came practicable touchscreens, and your lovingly-honed, real-button-oriented OS looked simplistic (which was the main reason why you were so popular). So you desperately played catch-up and failed. Other technologies snuck up on you and you failed there too (I had the misfortune to have to develop for/work on an early N97 which actually "poisoned" any WiFi network it touched).

And now, in desparation, you've jumped into bed with another giant that has lost its way. They will carry on, as their name is now synonymous with mediocrity, but this will be the final straw for you, Nokia.

End Call